1. Field of the Present Invention
The present invention relates generally to accessories for use with food skewers, and, in particular, to accessories for removing or adding food to a skewer as part of a cooking process.
2. Background
When cooking food on a grill and the like, skewers are commonly used to hold smaller pieces of food in place, to make it easier to move and rotate the food, and to place the food on the grill and to remove it therefrom. As is well known, each skewer is inserted through multiple pieces of food, one after another. Foods that are commonly grilled include pieces of meat, including steak, chicken, seafood, and the like, and fruits and vegetables, including pieces of pepper, onion, tomato, and the like.
One problem with the use of skewers, however, is that it can be difficult to load and unload the food onto and off of the skewers. The cook or diner frequently uses his or her fingers, but this can be unsanitary and messy, and the food and skewers are hot when removed from the grill. Common implements, such as knives or forks, are sometimes used but are clumsy and inefficient. Special purpose skewer accessories have also been proposed, but are generally overcomplicated, expensive to manufacture, fail to solve the problem, and suffer from other problems.
One food removal tool is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,495,952 to Solakian. However, the angled body portion is expensive to manufacture, and the handle is bulky. Such a tool would also be too expensive to appeal to cooks and hosts who would like to be able to supply each diner with his or her own food skewer tool.
Thus, a need exists for a simple food skewer tool for loading and removing food from a skewer.